Will Brady (Q&A - Nov. 2009)
Will Brady, 24, of Howell, Mich., had the highest finish of any U.S. athlete at the 2009 Pentathlon World Championships, placing 14th. He currently trains at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and studies international business at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Will answered the following 10 questions for this month's Athlete Profile...
Q1: How long do you see yourself competing in modern pentathlon?
WILL BRADY: The ultimate goal is to make the Olympic Team and medal, however, I love my sport and will continue participate in it until I am no longer competitive.
Q2: What's one of the most important things your parents did in your upbringing?
WILL BRADY: I am not sure there is just one response to the question. The biggest thing that jumps out at me right away is the fact that they gave me so many opportunities growing up. I was so active as a kid that I never really got in trouble in school or at home and beyond that it made me into a very well-rounded person.
Q3: You have been a member of World Championship and World Cup teams. What have you learned from those experiences?
WILL BRADY: Take it all in and soak up the experiences in life. With training and travel it is really easy to fly through the days, weeks and months. I suppose that is a common thing as we grow older, for the days to start blending together and I am just starting to realize that. Sometimes I try to think about what I have actually gotten done in the last few weeks and I don't remember a thing...no real highlights other than the daily grind. So I have been trying to soak up all those little moments during my days, whether it is my morning coffee, people I enjoy spending time with or just remembering where I am and what I am doing. Wow. I am at the Olympic Training Center and representing my country while competing abroad.
Q4: What are your favorite songs?
WILL BRADY: Pump up songs - "Live Your Life" by T.I., "Sing for the Moment" and "Till I Collapse" by Eminem, "Someday" by Flipsyde, "Touche" by Godsmack.
Relaxing and hanging out- "Arizona" and "Closer" by Kings of Leon, "Gravity" by John Meyer.
Country song (yes I have a little country in me) - "Big Green Tractor" by Jason Aldean.
Guilty pleasure while driving my car around - "Juke Box Hero" by Foreigner.
Q5: What is the best present you ever received?
WILL BRADY: It has very little value in the sense of cost but it is more sentimental than anything else. I was helping my dad out last year in the garage while I was home visiting and we ran across some old tools. Among these was an antique tool called a plumb line which they used to use to figure out what vertical was (today we use a laser level). At the time I didn't think much of it other than it was really cool. Inevitably, it ended up back in the drawer and we carried on with the shuffling of tools and equipment. A couple of days later I returned to Colorado Springs and was unpacking when I came across a little green box. It looked fairly swanky like a watch or something belonged in it. When I opened the box up I found the plumb line neatly wrapped up in tissue with a note that read "I think it is really cool too! Love Dad." Out of all the possessions I can think of, that little rusty metal tool has more value to it than anything else.
Q6:Who is your favorite actor?
I am going to go with Will Smith. First off, there is the fact that we share the same awesome name! Yeah! More seriously though, he is a very versatile actor whom I have enjoyed over the years. I mean who hasn't laughed out loud during the TV show "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" or shed a tear during one of the gut wrenchers like "The Pursuit of Happiness" and "Seven Pounds"? Are you in the mood for action? No problem! How about the greats like "I-Robot", "I am Legend", or "Men in Black"? Hum... need a chick flick to watch with the girl tonight? Pull out "Hitch" or "Shark Tale", always a pleaser.
Q7: What is one thing you can't live without?
WILL BRADY: I am not much of a materialistic person so in that sense I could be happy with the clothes on my back. The thing that I would have a hard time living without is friendships and relationships with other people.
Q8: Where do you want to travel to in the world for, say, an extended vacation?
WILL BRADY: I am not one who can sit still for a long time so I could not do a beach vacation for more than a few days. If I had to choose an extended vacation I would go for the ski slopes in Utah during the whole February/March ski season.
Q9: When you look back on your pentathlon career so far, is there something you would like to have done differently?
WILL BRADY: I don't think I would have done anything differently to be honest. I would like to say that I wish I would have gotten more serious and trained harder sooner, but I think that was a step in maturity more than anything else. I needed to go through my own hardships and to watch the success of others in order to reach that tipping point in my career from liking my sport and what I am doing to having that drive where you want to beat everyone out there and are willing to put the work into it.
Q10: What are your words to live by?
WILL BRADY: "Don't take life too seriously... You will never make it out alive." - Van Wilder
I am just trying to have a little fun while going through life and take in all the friendships and experiences I can.
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